A long, testing road is nearly at an end for the US women's national team, as they prepare to meet Japan in the final of the 2015 Women's World Cup at BC Place in Vancouver on Sunday evening (7 pm ET; FOX, Telemundo, CTV, RDS).
It's a matchup worthy of a World Cup decider: The defending champions, wielding one of the world's most technical styles of play – in either gender – against the most established, most consistent women's program on earth.
And it's also a rematch.
These two teams played out a heart-pounding battle in the 2011 final in Frankfurt, Germany, a back-and-forth affair that saw the United States – who created a bevy of scoring chances but wasted most of them – twice take the lead, only to be pegged back by two Japanese comebacks over 120 minutes.
When a penalty-kick shootout was required to break the deadlock, the Americans wilted while the “Nadeshiko” held their nerve, keyed by goalkeeper Ayumi Kaihori's saves on two spot kicks, to win 3-1, capping a gutsy upset of the favorites. The unlikely victory brought joy and comfort to a nation still reeling from that year's devastating earthquake and tsunami, and vindicated the possession-centric tactics of coach Norio Sasaki, who would win FIFA's World Coach of the Year award.
“Playing in the final at the highest level, you have to take your chances, and we weren’t sharp enough with the two goals conceded and that is why we didn’t win the game,” said USWNT coach Pia Sundhage afterward. “There is something to be said about the way Japan plays. They are comfortable with the ball even when they are behind and that kind of thing is good for women’s football.”
Meanwhile, most of the US squad that was part of that gut-wrenching defeat are still around for this year's tournament. Though they claimed a measure of revenge by defeating Japan 2-1 in the gold-medal match at the 2012 Olympics, the sting of falling short in a World Cup tournament marked by unprecedented interest back home and iconic heroics against Brazil in the quarterfinals still lingers today.
“As a competitor you know in your heart that all the good stuff, none of it counted,” striker Abby Wambach told USA Today this week. “How well we had played, how we had fought back from the brink of defeat in the quarterfinal, all the excitement. We lost. We didn't finish the job. We weren't champions.”
The US started this year's tournament slowly, looking pedestrian despite going undefeated in Group D play, but have improved dramatically in the knockout stages, beating Colombia and China before outwitting No. 1-ranked Germany in a memorable semifinal clash in Montreal. Japan, for their part, have been intermittently impressive but rarely dominant, easing to a 3-0 record in a soft Group C and doing just enough to defeat the Netherlands, Japan and England to reach this point.
“We struggled to cause them problems,” said Sasaki after the 2-1 semifinal win over England, a tight affair settled by Laura Bassett's stunning injury-time own goal. “We didn’t play as well as I’d hoped, but when you qualify, it means you’ve achieved your objective.”
Previous meetings have been defined by the contrast between the USWNT's power and athleticism and undersized Japan's fluidity and cohesive passing – and the Nadeshiko did indeed score one of the prettiest goals of this tournament against the Dutch:
Sophisticated playmaker Aya Miyama has taken over the conductor's role long filled by icon Homare Sawa, notching two goals and two assists while the rest of the squad has adopted a “scoring by committee” approach, with no one else netting more than one of their nine goals.
Yet this match might unfold differently. The last two US victories have featured effective midfield control – particularly against Germany, where the center-mid trio of Carli Lloyd, Morgan Brian and Lauren Holiday overshadowed their illustrious European adversaries. It's consigned Wambach to a substitute's role, but has brought out the best in the group as a whole.
The Americans' sterling back line may prove their ticket to glory in the end, however. Goalkeeper Hope Solo and defenders Ali Krieger, Becky Sauerbrunn, Julie Johnston and Meghan Klingenberg have allowed just one goal in six WWC matches, and that was way back in the opening game vs. Australia, as an amazing shutout streak of 513 minutes has stymied USWNT opponents.
Can the US exorcise the demons of 2011 and cap the glittering international careers of Wambach and her generation with a World Cup win? Or will the slick, selfless Japanese steal the spotlight again?
Regardless of the outcome, Sunday's final will be must-see TV.
